Gumnut's Stargate Atlantis Ficlet Collection
by Gumnut
Summary: A collection of ficlets not long enough to warrant their own story space. Some may contain spoilers for any season. Includes answers to challenges.
1. Practise

Practise  
By Gumnut  
7 Aug 2004/22 Nov 2005

"Yeeeeeeeeeeeehaaaaaaah!"

The sound of his jubilant yell bounced off the bulkhead as he slid the ship sideways, forcing it into a barrel roll, the glistening bulk of ice rock blurring past so fast the engines seemed to echo a speed scream back at him. As he breached perihelion with the giant tumbling snowball, he flicked a control and Puddlejumper One spun on its axis and broke its excuse for orbit in a perpendicular manoeuvre that would have had Newton rolling over in his grave.

God, this was good!

The moment he cleared the first rock, another shoved itself into his path, its trajectory wavering, jagged in its aimlessness. He only grinned wider, Aunt Pegasus felt like throwing him a challenge.

His mind, experienced in aerial combat, calculated his velocity versus obstacle, compensating for the third dimension of space, and the little ship answered, careening off to the left in yet another roll that sent the sight of the great ice ring into a tumble.

A moon loomed into focus.

A thought tickled his mind.

Hehehehehehehe.

Puddlejumper plunged towards the surface.

Space was silent, but his mind filled in the blanks. The scream of atmosphere rushing past, the roar of engines, and exhilaration as the blood sang in his bones.

A readout flickered on the screen, calculations of time of impact, and warning alarms began to ring. Words in a language he couldn't speak echoed in the cabin.

He ignored them all.

He knew what he was doing.

The vacant ball of rock loomed in the forward viewport. He flicked a control and the stable descent broke into a spin.

He let loose with another yell, riding the little ship like a bronco at a rodeo, bending physics into decorative origami. This was it. This was his joy in life. The freedom. The exhilaration. The innate beauty of the backdrop to his actions.

Flying.

Puddlejumper continued to scream at him, alarms shrieking in multiple languages and colours. He eyed the readouts, calculating trajectory, angle, pullout point, atmospheric density….

Imaginary wind blew through his hair.

He slammed a hand onto the controls, skimming the ship across the ionosphere of the small space body and ricocheting Puddlejumper out perpendicular to its original course…and at twice the speed.

Yeah, that was cool.

As he steadied out the little ship's course, he turned an excited grin to his passenger. "Wanna go again?"

Elizabeth Weir didn't answer. Eyes wide, face sheet white, fingers white knuckled, she simply stared at him.

Arched eyebrow. "What?"

xoxoxoxoxox  
FIN.


	2. Outrage

Outrage  
By Gumnut  
9 Feb 2006

"You've got to be kidding me."

"I'm sorry, sir."

McKay stared at the man and vaguely wondered if the size of his cranium had anything to do with the pea-sized lump of grey matter it obviously held.

"Do you have any idea what this means?"

"Sir, I understand-"

" I Do you/I " Damn, now his blood pressure was going up, his heart rate pounding in his ears. "Do you have any idea how many hours I work around the clock to keep this boat with buildings functional?" A pause for the lack of answer he expected. "No. You don't. Because just like everyone else around here, you take me for granted." Another pause, but the man seemed to be denied a vocabulary. "You see this?" He pointed at the light above the man's head. "The only reason you have that is because of me." He pounded a finger into his own chest. "You smell this? You breathe this?" A couple of deep breaths for emphasis. "You get that, because of me." McKay leant over the counter. The Air Force officer was taller than him, but the shorter man didn't seem to notice, looming over him with sheer force of fury. "Now, I don't ask for much, but I would have thought that the bare essentials would be provided even if I sat on my butt and stared at the ceiling all day, which, incidently, sounds like exactly what you've been doing!"

"Sir, I will speak to my superior-"

"Indeed you will. Because I will speak to mine, and mine is the leader of this crackpot expedition! And I don't care if it is 2am in Colorado right now, I want that order dialled in immediately!"

"Sir, even if by some chance Doctor Weir authorises gate access at this time of night, it will still take the Daedelus some time to deliver your supply."

McKay opened his mouth to launch into another tirade, but the words didn't eventuate. Damnit, the young pimple-faced waste of space was actually right. But then the stress got the better of him. "I don't care! I need it and I need it now!"

"Rodney?"

"What!" McKay spun and came face to face with Carson Beckett.

"Are you alright?"

"Alright! Do I look alright!" Carson's eyes widened just slightly.

"Ah, no, and some people were getting concerned." The doctor had obviously been called down by someone, he was still in his surgery scrubs. He looked at the young lieutenant a moment and at the few people staring at them from the corridor before his eyes fixed on Rodney once again. "Don't you think we'd better go somewhere a little more private?"

"No, I think, Lieutenant Vacancy here, should be Filling out. An. Order. Form." This last was shouted over the counter at the young man. When he didn't respond immediately, McKay added at volume, "NOW!"

Beckett held up his hands at what seemed to be an attempt at placation. "Now, Rodney, calm down…"

"Carson, they've run out of coffee!"

Beckett blinked. "They've what?"

"There's no more coffee."

"You've got to be kidding me." His face was pale.

Sour smirk and a gesture in Lieutenant Empty Head's direction. "Be my guest."

xoxoxoxoxox  
FIN.


	3. Sacrifices

Sacrifices

Sacrifices

By Gumnut

2 Jan 2006

He crouched, ever wary, the shout of distant gunfire battering the air, his heart beating his chestbone as if to climb out of his ribcage and clamber down the street.

He had escaped.

The question was, what to do now?

Teyla had been compromised. Ronin was still back there, spitting blood.

And McKay…

Sheppard had escaped, but at the same time…not so much.

A scream broke the air.

Wood splintered under his fingernails.

Command involved decision. It always had. And he didn't have a problem with that. He was good with it. He had a command of command. But times like this…it pained.

He knew what he had to do.

Another scream grated across his nerves.

There was no other option.

Keeping low, skipping between storage boxes, behind buildings and into the deep foliage of the forest, he ran.

The screams followed him.

Sometimes there had to be sacrifices.

He just wished they could be his own.

-o-o-o-


	4. Rodney's turn

Rodney's turn

Rodney's turn

By Gumnut

21 May 2006

"It's my turn."

"Rodney, now is not the time."

"But you said I could."

"That was before."

"Before what?"

"Before you lied to me."

"Lied to you? When did I lie to you?"

"Lieutenant Kelsey."

"That was not my fault."

"I beg to differ."

"You can beg all you like, but your love life or lack thereof has nothing to do with me."

Sheppard turned to the scientist, incredulity on his face. "You told her I had fungi on my feet."

"You did."

"I did not."

"Do you want me to pull the medical files?"

"If you can pull medical files, I'm firing Beckett."

"It's a simple matter. I only have to access the main…" He drifted off as Sheppard's expression reached a whole new shade of dark. "What?'

"No medical files. And no flying."

"You're just afraid. I thought you military types were daring. I guess not."

"Afraid? Damn right I'm afraid. Last time you took the wheel, the whole 'vacation in the sun' idea became a whole new concept."

"I just need practise."

"And I need to live. I've grown attached to the activity."

"So in other words, you're not going to let me have my turn?"

"Nope. Nada. Not on this side of Pegasus."

"Okay. Then I guess I'll just have to mention your brain tumour to Sergeant Ginas."

"Tumour?" Sheppard looked at him and McKay put on the most confident expression he could manage. The colonel's reaction was satisfactory. "I don't have a brain tumour."

"She doesn't know that. I could also be prone to mentioning your drooling habit."

"McKay…"

"Then there is the unfortunate puss…"

"She won't believe you."

"I can show her pictures."

Sheppard's eyes widened. "What pictures?"

"You don't think I spend all my computer time playing with just numbers do you?"

"Yes."

"I'll have you know that I do have some computer skills that do not rely on science."

"This is blackmail."

"Call it what you will. I prefer 'flight instruction' myself."

"Rodney…"

"Yes?"

"It's your turn."

-o-o-o-

Muse: Rodney McKay  
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis  
Challenge: fly  
Word count: 335


	5. Just do it

Just do it

Just do it

A scrap of SGA fic

By Gumnut

10 Jun 2006

"McKay, just do it!"

"But if it doesn't work…if…if…" The earth groaned.

"McKay!"

The scientist let out a whimper of resignation and pressed the button.

The array telescoped up through the underbrush, its great projectors branching out into defensive formation. The ground shook and Sheppard held his breath a moment. It all fell to McKay and his promises. It always fell to McKay and his promises.

"Is it working?"

"Give it a chance, Colonel, it's still powering up."

"Well, power it up faster!" He had to shout to be heard.

"Damnit, if you hadn't gotten us into this position in the first place-"

"McKay!"

"It's activated!"

And it was. Each projector suddenly shot forth a shaft of red light, the sparkling incandescence rippling in the air, spreading like water sprayed onto a windshield, each droplet of transparent red joining up with each other until a solid wall of wavering light stood between them and the falling mountain.

Sheppard drew in a breath. "Will it hold?"

"I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?!"

McKay spun, his notepad dangling to one side, his face almost as red at the defence shield behind him. "I mean, I don't know, Colonel. Funnily enough, I haven't done this before. If you had listened to me earlier-"

But then there was no more time for questions as several hundred ton of mud and rock slammed into the other side of the shield, sending sparks arching in electronic agony as it tried to do something it was never designed to do.

McKay yelped and muttered to himself, jabbing at his pad. Sheppard stared at the slide piling up in a great wave above him. The shield had to hold. Not for them, but for the village behind them.

It sparked again and McKay swore.

"McKay?"

"Not designed….never listen…." His fingers hit his pad violently and he ignored the colonel.

The hair on the back of John's neck began to crawl, the electricity in the air reaching out and grabbing at him.

"McKay…" His voice wavered.

The shield spat and groaned.

The mud writhed in captivity, towering over them, begging to be let free.

"McKay!"

A huge electric arc branched out and cremated the bush beside him. Ash joined the electricity in the air.

And it trembled.

Sheppard looked up again.

"Mc-"

The shield gave.

-o-o-o-


End file.
